


The Woven Jewels

by Calificent, penbet10



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: F/F, F/M, Family Drama, Intrigue, Lies, M/M, Murder, Royalty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 03:39:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16778875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calificent/pseuds/Calificent, https://archiveofourown.org/users/penbet10/pseuds/penbet10
Summary: It had been three days since the liberation of the Crystal Empire, and Cadence had not slept a wink. Ponies still hid at home and remained antisocial. Many still raved about King Sombra’s return. She and her husband, Shining Armor, had been desperately trying to fix what King Sombra’s rule had destroyed. Ponies still lived in fear of chains and torture. They tried to correct that which had appeared  no semblance of anything other than tyranny. And now it had become Cadence’s duty to restore the Crystal Empire to its former glory, no matter the cost to her own well being, for she was their princess.





	The Woven Jewels

It had been three days since the liberation of the Crystal Empire, and Cadence had not slept a wink. Ponies still hid at home and remained antisocial. Many still raved about King Sombra’s return. She and her husband, Shining Armor, had been desperately trying to fix what King Sombra’s rule had destroyed. Ponies still lived in fear of chains and torture. They tried to correct that which had appeared no semblance of anything other than tyranny. And now it had become Cadence’s duty to restore the Crystal Empire to its former glory, no matter the cost to her own well being, for she was their princess. Her great aunts had given her this responsibility and she could not let them down. Despite Cadence’s dedication to restoring the empire Shining had insisted that Cadence should get some sleep. Cadence while at first had been adamant about working, had decided it was for the best, so she wouldn’t make some fatal error in her exhaustion. She could no longer focus on construction plans or properly sign her name on new laws. 

Thusly as to why she was currently being lead around the castle by her hoofmaid, Gilded Lily, to her royal quarters. The pair walked through the large cavernous halls of the castle. Crystal decor adorned the walls and royal draperies gilded in gold and jewels speckled the halls. Sparkling suits of armor peppered the walls, staffs and shields ready in defense. The walls themselves seemed to shimmer in the dying sun, as polished jewels tended to do. A gentle arctic breeze sifted through the halls as the walked, Cadence’s embossed slippers softly clicked on the polished floors. 

On any other day Cadence would have gawked at all the details around her, but her eyes were droopy and her steps heavy. But she could tell this castle was different between her old home in Canterlot and and her new abode. Canterlot carried a dusty type of royalty. The architecture seemed more archaic and medieval with a sparse bit of domes. With its stained glass windows, quartz walls and various bridges. The Crystal Castle followed similar, but as the title implied was made of heavy aged crystal walls. The rooms were larger and rotundas were common versus Canterlot’s vaulted ceilings. Everything was more airy and open. A breeze always seemed to blow and everything shined by waxing or natural glow. Stuffy curtains didn’t dangle at every window, the sunshine entered through the smaller curtains. There was hardly any solid windows, technically they were just carved holes into the crystal and thus the breeze.

Cadence snapped into attention again, wondering about her room. She had not seen her quarters before, much to busy with trying to keep the empire safe and then restoring order amongst the populace. She was curious to see where she would be sleeping from now on, the last few days she had just fallen asleep at desk or throne. But her head pounded and her hooves fell like lead as she tiredly stumbled behind Lily. 

Lily seemed to glide with a grace that Cadence had never seen before, and she had grown up in Canterlot, allowing her to see all kinds of things. In the castle of her aunts the servants seemed to plod along some unseen rhythm, their steps bouncing with a type of cheer. But Lily floated, much like the other crystal ponies did. It wasn’t ghostly or ominous, only different. In canterlot servants were seen everywhere polishing, cleaning and scrubbing, but here they were never seen. Everything was always clean, messes were removed without a witness and dirt was irrelevant. Thought despite being mesmerized by her hoofmaid’s gait Cadence hadn’t realized she had stopped until she felt Lily’s tail brush her chest. Cadence shook her head to clear away some of her drowsiness and gave her hoofmaid a slightly embarrassed smile. 

But then she looked up and noticed a door, it was a grand stone door, carved with the utmost precision and detail. Made of the most opulent crystal, it seemed like she could have stared at it for hours, trying to point out every little image that had been carved so meticulously into the door’s stony surface. Like everything else gems were held in it, golden swirls were etched with skills only a patient hoof could master. Ancient symbols and decorations danced upon the frame and spun through the door, in a majestic ballet. But Cadence’s marvel evaporated when the door was pushed open by Lily and she was being led inside. 

The furniture was grand as well, with intricate carvings decorating everything. Yet it all seemed dwarfed by something that caught Cadence's attention. Upon the wall was a large portrait of Cadence. She sat regally with jewels weaved into her mane and crown adorning her head. A jeweled cape was draped on her shoulders and her eyes seemed to sweep over the room as though examining them with the highest expectations. A golden scepter was by her side, encrusted with jewels and shined. Cadence sat in awe of the painting. It had only been three days. Three days! Cadence had never seen herself look so...powerful. That look about her features, so hard and cold yet beautiful. Like a gem or an ice sculpture beautiful, solid and icy. She had never looked like that. It almost scared her, is this the image she showed to her people? A cold stern ruler? Despite the negative emotions that the painting brought, Cadence was still thankful. It was an amazing gift even though it implied things Cadence had never considered before. So Cadence turned her head to her hoofmaid and gave her a sincere thank you, only to receive a confused look in reply.

“M-my queen, do you not remember, you received this portrait on the day of your coronation? Oh it must be your exhaustion. Please my queen, get some rest.” Replied Lily.

Cadence turned back to the painting feeling as confused as Lily did. “What do you mean my coronation? I am not a...queen.” Cadence finished lamely as she realized Lily was no longer there. Cadence looked to the painting a third time and it seemed far more ominous than it had before. Those long lashed painted eyes now looked to her more sinister. She didn’t think she could sleep with herself staring down like that at her. So the tired and confused princess approached the painting with the same amount of caution somepony would use when approaching a sleeping manticore and began to lift with magic, only to completely black out once her aurora made contact. When her world came back to her she seemed to be watching the room from a wall, as though she were a portrait. 

Before Cadence could even question why she would ever think herself as a portrait the door of the room had been thrown open and a young Cadence galloped in like she had just found paradise. She tried to blink away the confusion but felt no eyelids to use. “I’m queen! I’m queen!” she shrieked in glee as she twirled and danced about the room. She then stopped in front of Cadence in awe. Her pupils dilated and her jaw dropped for a few minutes before a face splitting grin grew on the young Cadence’s features. “I even have my own royal portrait!” She squealed in ecstasy as she continued to prance and skipped about the room once more.

The air was pierced by a childish voice. “Cryssie you did it! You did it!” A little colt shouted as he ran into the room. He was small maybe around five, with a coal black mane and ash colored fur. His eyes shone like rubies as he tackled the teenaged Alicorn into a hug. Young Cadence returned the hug with enthusiasm as she twirled again, spinning the giggling foal in the process.

The teen mare stopped spinning and kissed the foal on the cheek, eliciting another set of giggles. “I know Z. I did it! I am now officially Queen Crystalline, ruler of the Crystal Empire. And as a queen I get to take on an apprentice, that being you of course. And you know what that makes you?” The officially dubbed queen asked the colt she merely called Z. The little foal seemed to take the question with surprising seriousness as she placed a hoof under his chin and thought.  
“Zirconium?” he offered cutely, his eyes wide with foalhood hope. He had obviously wanted to be right, to get Crystalline’s approval. 

The newly made queen gave the faol a tender smile and planted a kiss on his nose. The foal giggled at the treatment and squirmed in her hold.   
“Nope, it makes you Prince Zirconium! Isn’t that great? You’ll be my little prince, won’t you?” she asked with fake concern that Zirconium obviously fell for.

“Of course!” he assured with all the seriousness inside of his little unicorn body. Crystalline smiled.

Her vision began to blur, the last thing she heard was a foal giggling once more. She tried blinking again, this time succeeding. Her head throbbed as she pulled herself to her hunches. The moon was high in the sky. Softly she rubbed her pained head, having fallen once magically touching the portrait. Looking around she looked back at the portrait. Standing up, with a stumble at first, she touched the portrait this time with her hoof.

It had felt like a dream. Queen Crystalline, that was what the foal had called her. But she was Cadence or Mi Amore Cadenza as some uppercrusts preferred to call her. So why had she been called as such? And who was Prince Zirconium? She had never heard of those two ponies and her aunts had made sure Cadence payed attention in royal history.   
The foal seemed familiar to her, his coloring reminded her of somepony else, but he couldn't be him. This foal was named Zirconium, he was young and sweet. Barely a child, a rightful royal, unlike the other. perhaps it was a sleep deprived dream. With an exhausted sigh she headed to her bed. Shining was right, I need sleep.

Gently she crawled up to the king sized mattress. With minor tired frustration she threw blankets and pillows about trying to borrow in. Magically she removed her regalia and placed it on her nightstand with a small clink. Shining would arrive sooner or later. She quickly came to realize how tired she truly was. He doesn't need me to wait for him, she thought with a sleepy sigh.

Her eyes closed with a final yawn and she fell into deep slumber. She did not dream, but rather heard. The happy squeal of Crystalline, a giggle from Zirconium and lastly a haunting laughter from King Sombra. Her eyes fluttered open and she pushed up into a sitting position. The room was dark, but she could just make Shining’s sleeping silhouette by her side. Her heart pounded in her ears as blood rushed through her head. She sighed putting a hoof to her chest. Shining turned in the bed and breathed softly unaware of his wife’s midnight panic. Cadence looked back to the portrait, the moonlight flickered on her face, casting a dim glow on her features. The portrait-her watched her in demanding expectancy. With another sigh she rolled back in bed and slept again. 

The next morning had dawned and was nothing more than an event. Mares seemed to appear out of the shadows, each taking a piece of regalia and taking it upon themselves to dress Cadence. Princess Cadence was no stranger to being dressed for certain events but the idea of being dressed every morning by a team of silent mares every day seemed a bit daunting. Having her legs lifted at odd angles, her mane brushed like a doll, and cleaned up over and over again. She would be required to wear a crown, chest plate and shoes at all times around the castle save her sleeping quarters. Something she wasn’t entirely comfortable with was wearing the heavy items. In Canterlot she wore them from time to time preferring to go without the opulent items. She wondered if her aunts felt as sore as she did for wearing the decorative metal all day every day.

When she was finally allowed to leave her room after an intense round of grooming she found Shining in a similar state as several mares positioned his emblem upon his carefully ironed red tunic with clinical precision. The look on his face communicated his uncomfortableness at being dressed, something he obviously did himself. His eyes landed on her pleadingly. Cadence gave him a cheeky smile and walked around her husband, examining the accuracy in which he was dressed, which was surprising seeing as there was an entirely different uniform used by traditional Crystal Empire troops. “Good work ladies. He looks very princely.” she said as the mares began disappearing., Cadence was beginning to suspect that the servants had secret passages around the castle but had no idea of the specifics. 

Shining pouted at his wife and she gave a laugh, that sounded a little too close to Crystalline’s laugh for comfort. “You and I have to get used to this. My aunts have to go through the same thing every morning I’ll bet.” she said before planting a kiss on her husband’s cheek, the kiss seemed to pacify him but he still mustered a grumble about touchy ninja-mares that caused Cadence to give an undignified snort as they made their way to the presentation balcony. 

The balcony stood out jutting from the castle wall. It rested high above the rounded plaza. Heavy velvet curtains lay behind the balcony giving a regal background to anypony who would stand there. The balcony itself stood with golden banisters protecting the royals and further pronouncing their place in society with its polished hold and bejewelled holdings. 

They would be formally addressing the ponies of the Crystal Empire on the bill of rights that would be drafted. They needed ponies to be chosen as representatives to discuss with Cadence on the focus of the bill of rights. The ponies needed a voice, something they hadn’t had in over a thousand years. For so many years these ponies had lived in a dictatorship, no voice or liberty. King Sombra had made all the citizens into nothing more than disposable slaves. Cadence wouldn’t have it, she despised that such a pony had ever lived and ruled in such a way. There would be no more of this, she swore it to herself. They stood at the door together, the sound of Shining Armor’s steady breath helped her keep a grip on her consciousness but her stomach continued to imitate an acrobatic performer. 

“Cadence, breathe.” came Shining’s soft command and Cadence seemed to realize she hadn’t been breathing. She exhaled heavily and began getting oxygen in her lungs again before getting her tongue to work.   
“Sorry, it’s just...what if they don’t like me? What am I supposed to do then? Or what if instead of hating me, they fear me? Then I’ll just be like-” There was a distinctly male chuckle in the background Cadence realized it was her husband’s. She flushed and turned to Shining Armor who seemed to have given up on muffling his laughter with his hoof. “What’s so funny?” She asked a little peeved her worries seemed trivialized into a joke.

Shining reigned in his amusement long enough to form a coherent reply. “You’re starting to sound like my sister. You worry too much. They’ll love you. You helped free them after all. Besides you have a way with words that I can’t even compete with, not that I have much words to begin with, but still. You’ll do fine.” assured Shining. 

Cadence felt her heart slow down a bit and she nodded along . Ok, I can do this! Shining believed in her, that was all the support she needed. The doors swung open, flushing the corridor with warm sunlight. A chilled breeze followed the rush of warmth and played with Cadence’s and Shining’s manes as they stepped out into the balcony. Cadence almost felt herself sway as she looked onto the crowd of expectant faces. Face upon face of expectant weary ponies. All watching waiting hoping on their new ruler. She wondered briefly what they were expecting.

Then she realized she had not yet began to speak. Cadence felt herself flush and cleared her throat. She used her magic to amplify her voice and finally remembered the speech. “I would first of like to thank you all for coming here today. I can’t begin to pretend to know or imagine what your lives have been like. And that is why I am here today, to try to assuage the horror you have all experienced. As you may all know I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza or Princess Cadence as I would prefer that you address me as such. Now I have not been here long and you may not see me as the one to lead you to a better future, rest assured that guiding the Crystal Empire will be my first priority. I promise, nay, vow to fix the destruction left in the wake of a monster, to eradicate the laws of tyranny in which you lived under. I will, with a steady hoof in the act, help in anyway I can. After your liberation it has come to my attention that certain documents written to protect your freedoms have been destroyed or have never simply been made. This is one of the things that must immediately change. I have decided that this will not do at all,” she breathed. “I implore you all to elect representatives of your respective social classes and tribes to discuss and negotiate your rights. So that you may never again be oppressed.” she finished. 

The crowd was silent for a moment and Cadence felt her heart leaps into her throat. Her legs began to tremble as her ears pounded. She could feel perspiration form on her forehead and her nervousness continued to increase. But then a sound like thunder reached the balcony and she realized they were stomping, they were applauding her. Roars of cheer filled her ears as all the ponies called out to their new princess. She nearly collapsed against Shining in relief before he lead her off the balcony. She could do this. 

After the whole speech fiasco Cadence was more than happy to lock herself away into her private study to continue her research into the laws and decrees of the Crystal Empire.   
Finally she reached her room after many wrong turns. Entering she locked her door resting on it. She slide down the door landing on the cool marble floor. With another sigh she got on her hooves and slid into her desk, drinking from a glass of water she had not noticed when she entered. Turning on light she set to looking into a voluminous law book she had been given. The book itself was the height of a foal, large and dusty. It smelled of old newspaper and seemed older than the empire. With another groan she opened it.

She was glad to find there was no death penalty, something the Griffon Dominion was infamous for. But there was a history of exile as a punishment for treason, and according to the official records exile was only in extreme cases and was meant to be rare. But yet it seemed to happen quite often. The remaining laws were common, protecting against theft between the populaces and didn’t seem to favor one class of ponies for the other. What was troubling was the lack of protection against the royal family. They could do almost anything, even take crops and funds as royal property in times of war or economic hardship.

But it was the royal family who declared when there was financial hardship. There was no official amount to declare when the empire was truly in need of financial help, how was anypony to know when somepony was not simply lying? With all this room for corruption it almost surprised Cadence that someone hadn’t done what Sombra did earlier. Cadence morbidly grinned, ‘At least I know where to start.’ 

But try as she might to focus on her work her mind began to wander after several minutes of reading. She simply itched with the need to find out who Crystalline and Zirconium were, who they became. The image of these ponies seemed to dance around her head, teasing her with their presence and alluring mystery. Queen Crystalline, she had looked so much like Cadence it was eerie. It was almost as if she was looking at Chrysalis, parading about in Cadence’s skin. Just like her wedding. But Chrysalis had nothing to do with it. Whoever Crystalline was, it couldn’t he Chrysalis. But then who was she?

Frustrated she slammed the heavy book closed with a thud. She drank from her glass, forgetting that it had been empty minutes ago. She needed air, there was no way she could focus. She got up from her desk and left they study, feeling the cool breeze whisper about her from. She noticed how dark it had gotten, the speech was only just that morning. Outside the stars twinkled in the navy expanse. Night clouds floated lazily momentarily covering Luna’s moon. The soft chirp of crickets filled the air. Cadence took a chilly night-air breath and began to wander, sometimes catching a glimpse of a servant as they ghosted about the castle. She nearly winced after every step afterward, the sound being amplified by the silence of the other ponies steps. Compared to these servants she was an elephant adorned in bells. There steps were as soft as the twinkling stars in the silent halls. Self Consciously Cadence began to walk with lighter steps or at least tried. Cadence had no real destination in mind, she couldn’t go to bed, she couldn’t work, all she seemed to be capable of was thinking of them.

So in relative darkness Cadence made her way through her a castle that was not yet her home. She dared not illuminate the room with magic, it would only disturb the sacred tranquility around her. Faint shadows on the wall played at the edges of her vision, a cold breeze hissing frozen words into her ears, and nothing but the ambient glow of strange stones in the halls to light her path dimly. The moon had been hidden by soft clouds obscuring her primary light source. Imposing arches of crystal lead to the castle's famous rotundas, which inevitably caused her to circle and weave about her path until she unknowingly found herself standing about a set of grand doors. Not grand in design or beauty but in a wisdom that Cadence could never explain. For how could doors be wise? As though they carried the weight of history like a burdened mule? These doors could not release their secrets, nor share their visions, they were simply doors; doors Cadence seemed to be standing in front of like a fool. So deciding to end her odd behavior she opened the doors with her hooves, too fearful of using her magic on anything in the castle again. 

The large doors did not creak as if ancient, but merely swung open inviting the princess to enter a cavernous temple dedicated to knowledge, a library. She could smell the musk of aging paper, and the saccharine perfume of ink piercing the air. The room was large and silent with the gentle moaning of shelves holding the vast array of history that they had bestowed upon those to come. Though her love of books did not stretch as deep as her sister-in-law, Cadence was still awestruck at the sight before her.

Slowly she entered the vast library, rows upon rows of books engulfed her as she walked deeper. She had felt restless, but somehow the library calmed her weary nerves and allowed her peace as she walked. Not enough to sleep, but just enough to think straight. The rows continued, with a swift powerful flap of her wings she took to the air. As she reached the top, she looked down upon the room. Beneath her a city of books filled her vision. Slowly beating her wings, with no direction, she watched the isles pass her. After several moments her wings too grew tired and she lowered herself down.   
Softly landing with a light thud, rotating in place she took in where she stood. She had left herself in a forest of shelvery. The walls were no longer visible, only the domed ceiling clued her that she was still inside the same place. Again Cadence walked skimming titles and covers and she walked. ‘Law in Equestria, The Royal Manner, The Way of the Royal, Kings and Queens of Equestria, The Nobel Emperors of The Crystal Empire...’ she sighed. Even when taking a break she couldn't forget what she was suppose to be doing. ‘Maybe I can find the foal’s section...’ she whimsically trailed.   
Eventually her steps grow heavier, her head buzzed from the same repetitive sight and she shuffled her wings. Flapping she took flight again, scanning for the exit. Unable to distinguish the correct direction she flew to the nearest wall. 

Upon reaching it she found herself at a door. The door itself was simple, nothing grandiose like the entrance door had been. Upon it was a label. Looking at it she recognized the writing as ancient crystal runes, a language lost in her abandoned culture. Her aunts had tried their best to keep the language with the crystal princess, but without another crystal pony to teach the once young princess, the language was all but lost. She could only recognise it, but not understand it.   
With the return of the empire and the civilization, she would finally be able to learn the language. But that would be later, as of now she knew nothing. Unable to decipher any of the runes, she looked for a handle. Turning a simple knob the door creaked ajar, unlocked. 

The room was dark, it to smelled musty. Lighting her horn she peered into the inky blackness. Recognizing wall candles in the dim light, she lit them and entered. At first she had thought herself in the janitorial room, noticing mops and buckets in a corner. But as she looked around, ceiling high filing cabinets filled the walls. Looking at the labels she noticed they held the runes and translated equestrian. “Fiction, natural sciences, biographies...” Peering into one of the cabinets, she found a list of title cards. The cards held book titles of the subject and where to find them. “... Crystal physics, The Crystal Royalty Genealogy...” Cadence stopped her hushed murmuring. ‘Genealogy...my history. Could this be...’ She pulled at the cabinet handle only for it to shake, it was locked. She looked for a key hole, but only saw a small jem resting above the handle. Knowing that some doors opened with magic, she flashed love magic at it. The beam hit the jewel and flashed a blinding light. 

Darkness, she tried to light her horn, but found no horn to light, or felt a body to move. Cadence began to panic, unable to get solid ground in the ethereal location. A voiced boomed into her ears, making her wince. It was masculine.  
“Take these cards and find the books. I want every single record of him destroyed and remember not a word of what is being done.” She heard the solid salute of a guard and the soft trotting. Cadence tried to recognize the voice, put could put no face to it. Her sight returned, her joints felt weak and she fell on her rump. Cadence blinked in the small room. ‘What was that? Who was that and who was him?’ Princess Cadence looked back at the cabinet. Another object had given her a vision upon magical touch. Was this castle some kind of historical flipbook? Using her hooves this time, she pulled open the cabinet, wincing as she touched it. Nothing than a rusty creak was heard. Looking in she found a huge gap in the cards. Looking closer all the Z cards were missing. ‘Did they remove the Zirconium pony’s records?’ She was unable to find any clues to him. She jumped to the C’s and found the name Crystalline.

Cadence wasn’t sure what she had expected when she had looked into Crystalline’s file but what she found was, interesting to say the least. She had been born to two alicorns, something Cadence had heard about when her own heritage had been explained but to see it in black and white, it made it more real in a sense. The Princesses were the only Alicorns she ever had contact with, and were the only ones until she became an alicorn. To think there had been others. 

The alicorn race had been extremely powerful, but for some reason she had not heard, probably dozed off during her foalhood tutoring, she knew not why they no longer existed as a race. To see the the evidence of her ancestry was an interesting occurrence to say the least. Since the arrival of the Empire, she had found herself rediscovering things she never knew or had heard of in her life. 

There was a small sketch of Crystalline included into the file, it showed the exact same thing the portrait did, if a bit more plain, documenting her features accurately. Same eye shape, same muzzle, same wings and horn. The drawing was a simple pencil sketch, some lines were smudged, partially distorting her appearance and darkening her color. The cutiemark was where the similarities ended. It was given a sketch all it’s own and showed in great detail a jeweled crown and scepter, which crossed it behind.

Cadence then looked down at the basic information, colouring, height and weight; she found it all the same as her own and felt the same uncomfortable feeling when she thought of their similarities. She quickly moved on from the basics, hoping to avoid any more disturbing thoughts. She looked down at the list of skills Crystalline had. She found the young queen had been well versed in law and mathematics, she knew the correct etiquette for one of her status. She was truly a noble. Refined education, her linage had been impeccably carved, skilfully chosen between the most eligible and proper of equines. It said everything about her while at the same time it said absolutely nothing. Nothing about her ponyality, how she ruled or how she treated her subjects. Cadence began to look farther down the file and found a section she had never come across before, references. It apparently gave a list of books she had been featured in, it was a short list of only two titles: Le Livre de le Roi, written by the Duchess of Prance herself and another title written in the old tongue of the Griffon Dominion a language only used by the the high court of the griffons. A class Cadence often found herself dozing in as a filly. She couldn’t make mane or tail of it and would probably require a translator. It didn’t give the location of the books so it would seem she would have to find it on her own. The convenience of the file cabinet evaporating before her eyes. 

She rolled her eyes at the thought, “Like life is full of convenient instructions on how to complete one’s tasks.” she muttered to herself as she returned the file to it’s proper place. She needed to find the books mentioned but had no where to start, Ciel de Liberte, Duchesse de le Bon Province a Prance et observateur de le innocent. A rather long name for a pony but a name nonetheless. What she needed to do was locate the works written by Ciel de Liberte, easy enough.

Cadence craned her neck to peer up at the rather tall tower of tomes. She never expected a duchess to be the scholarly type, or to have published over a thousand works. With a sigh of discontent she flapped her wings, a steady beat formulating. Scanning titles once again, she went from side to side, trying to identify any key words. She began noticing the titles to be an old dialect of Prench, Fancy. An older more renowned version of Prench, a comparison would be to using the Ye Olde Royal We of Equestrian English. But unlike Olde Equestrian English, this language was still spoken in the royal courts. As a princess she was required to learn it, adding on one more class she commonly slept through. 

Thus the young Cadence was forced into classrooms with dusty old tutors teaching her how to properly behave and fold napkins after a meal. It wasn’t so bad, at least she now knew how to properly fold a napkin into ten different kinds of shapes, that was always a great party trick. She couldn’t play the harp or speak Pig Latin, also known as Swinish, but she could make a crane out of napkin. 

She shuddered at thought at having a napkin as her cutie mark. And she shuddered again when she realized the the dust from her many tomes where now causing her to sneeze. So with a rather loud sneeze she managed to push herself into another large bookshelf. Her heart sank when she heard the old beast groan in protest and dared to look up on the see the large books begin to fall like the hooves of library justice. It took her a moment too long to remember she could do magic and she was soon buried under old books written in Swinish dedicated to the riveting history of the horseshoe. She could feel the guilt creeping up on her as she remembered not returning that one book on Deer in fifth grade. Karma was real, and she laughed when Shining refused to walk down the same street as a stray black cat. If she lived she would apologize...once it stopped being funny. Grinning she started lifting books off herself, sneezing at the dust, wincing at a paper cut or perhaps thousands of paper cuts, given the amount of books that seemed to have decided she was a lovely pillow to rest on. Complaining to herself at the overdramatized pain her cuts made her feel. She also decided that gravity was to be her arch nemesis. She’d get the official paperwork and everything. 

As she lifted the books from her abused back she began going through the titles, each in either Fancy or common Prench. Each one explored magical theory that while revolutionary then, were common knowledge now. Cadence sifted through the books, some in languages she knew and other not. but yet, none revealed information corresponding to Crystalline. With a heavy sigh she rose from her haunches and looked about the mess of books around her. 

She looked up to the tall shelf in front of her and the mountainous pile beside her. Weakly she levitated books up trying to find the location. Turning to find another book from the pile she found the pile to have grown smaller. Looking to the side, she found the missing books were already placed on the shelf. Cadence turned her neck searching for an answer. Facing the shelf again, she found even more books had been put back. Looking away ever so slightly she noticed movement from the corner of her eye. 

Flashing her horn she magically ensnared the moving object with an ‘ah-ha’. A dour old servant blinked back at her, a book in her hooves. “Is there anything I may assist you with your highness?” The mare asked with monotony. 

Cadence set the servant back on her hooves, “Oh, uh...no. I’m all right.” she blushed with embarrassment.

“Allow me to finish cleaning my queen.” 

“Alright, but I’m a princess, remember?” Cadence sighed.

The mare only blinked in her direction and continued shelving books. Not wanting to stand like a fool any longer Cadence began to make her way through the shelves. A quick flight across the room and she was in the halls again.

Though she had not come to the library with any objectives, she still exited feeling empty hoofed, more questions than answers at her grasp. She had wasted so much time on something probably meaningless and had done little to advance on the new rights for her subjects. Walking to her study Cadence felt miserable, unable to rule a kingdom and unable to even research. This wasn’t the princess a newly restored civilization needed. Cadenced groaned, The Crystal Empire needed a pony who knew how to rule, somepony who was a better speaker and smarter than her. Dejectedly Cadence reached her study and entered forlorn. 

Closing the door behind her she sat back in her desk. Below her the blank declaration lay, waiting for a proper leader to fill it with righteous laws. Looking about she found all her books had been out away in the nearby shelf, her glass refilled with water again.   
Dropping her head to the desk with a thump she randomly pulled a book out of the shelf. Looking up she read the title ‘Le Livre de le Roi.’ Cadence’s eyes widened, then saw nothing.

**Author's Note:**

> I have nothing for you, I am sorry.


End file.
